The 1st Chapter, the first album by U.S. band Circus Maximus, would be a great album if the
listener had never heard any progressive metal before. I, unfortunately for this band, have heard a
lot of Prog Metal, and when I look for new stuff, I want music that is original. In my opinion,
Circus Maximus has everything necessary to be considered Progressive Metal, except the Progression part.
First off I'll start with the good things, which there are quite a few of, especially for a bands
first release. The sound quality is quite good, the guitars and drums especially sound very good.
The band has a full and powerful sound, one that matches that of the Prog Metal giants they are
commonly compared to. Also I must add there are some cool and creative riffs, but again this brings
my to my original complaint: their music is too similar to stuff I've heard before.
When listening to The 1st Chapter, I hear many bits and pieces of other big bands, such as DREAM
THEATER and SYMPHONY X (just to name a few). By copying the sound of these other bands, they have
lost the progress part of Progressive Metal. That is not to say these guys do not know anything
about music, because they do a great job of making complex and fairly interesting music.
Some highlight tracks include Sin, Alive, Why am I Here, and the title track. As I said
earlier, the sound quality is pretty good, although some keyboards sound too cheesy when going for
the full orchestra sound. I'd highly recommend this album to people just getting into Progressive
music, because it gives a good glimpse of that Prog Metal sound, but for experienced Prog listeners,
I'd avoid this one.
listener had never heard any progressive metal before. I, unfortunately for this band, have heard a
lot of Prog Metal, and when I look for new stuff, I want music that is original. In my opinion,
Circus Maximus has everything necessary to be considered Progressive Metal, except the Progression part.
First off I'll start with the good things, which there are quite a few of, especially for a bands
first release. The sound quality is quite good, the guitars and drums especially sound very good.
The band has a full and powerful sound, one that matches that of the Prog Metal giants they are
commonly compared to. Also I must add there are some cool and creative riffs, but again this brings
my to my original complaint: their music is too similar to stuff I've heard before.
When listening to The 1st Chapter, I hear many bits and pieces of other big bands, such as DREAM
THEATER and SYMPHONY X (just to name a few). By copying the sound of these other bands, they have
lost the progress part of Progressive Metal. That is not to say these guys do not know anything
about music, because they do a great job of making complex and fairly interesting music.
Some highlight tracks include Sin, Alive, Why am I Here, and the title track. As I said
earlier, the sound quality is pretty good, although some keyboards sound too cheesy when going for
the full orchestra sound. I'd highly recommend this album to people just getting into Progressive
music, because it gives a good glimpse of that Prog Metal sound, but for experienced Prog listeners,
I'd avoid this one.
